Retail report is distressing

[MIB41]

Apparently the shuddering of stores is happening on a national level for large and small companies alike. Could Malls one day become an antique concept from our past?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101353168

[thunderbolt]

Malls have been on the way out for a while. here in FLA they do the town center style more than anything. Amazon is killing a lot of places. Its the internet version of Wal-Mart rubbing out other retailers. Streaming music and movies is running dvd and cd's out quickly, too.

[johnmiic]

We haven't had a decent record store/video store chain in years. DVD'd/Blu-Rays are at extreme low prices and Best Buy which used to have 8 aisles of selection cut their stock to less than 1/2 that. Why would you stop carrying a product just because it's cheap and affordable?

[jwyblejr]

The mall in Decatur is on it's last leg. JC Penney just closed it's store there and later on,Sears is going too.

[Figuremod73]

I use to frequent one of the largest malls in Georgia and was one of my hangouts all thru the '80s. Now that same mall looks nothing like it did 10-15 years ago. No record store, arcade, videogame, or toy stores. With the troubles J.C. Penny and Sears are having I wouldnt be suprised if the in door mall is just a memory in the not to distant future.

I still dont get the appeal to online shopping. Other than convience, I'm not fond of it. I like to be able to physically view items, looking for something that catches my eye.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Fayette Mall in Lexington, KY seems to be thriving, but the former anchor store, Sears, just closed. It was very busy back in early November with early Christmas shoppers like myself.

Chris

[Hedji]

I've stopped going to the mall with my girls. There's nothing there for me. No bookstores, no toy stores... just clothing and gadgets and stuff that I'm too obtuse to enjoy.

[jwyblejr]

Since K-Bs went out,malls just don't do it for me any more.

[Teemu]

Toys R Us is in trouble too...they have been in trouble...they are 6 Billion dollars in Debt

http://qz.com/148668/this-christmas-could-be-make-or-break-for-toys-r-us/

will they be around 5-10 years from now? not if sales are continually down.I've have seen this same trend with KB Toys.

[jimsmegos]

I miss Malls. I enjoyed being a Mallrat back in the late 80's and early 90's. The movie theater, restaurant, food court (yes they are separate) books, toy, and other niche stores. IN my home town they got ran over by gangs long before the internet could kill them. So sad.

[Random Axe]

ALL of this boils down to gross profit. The costs to manufacture this stuff has increased and consumer income has decreased. It's all about making enough margin to maintain the business. Case in point, Best Buy. Yes, they reduced their media section of DVD and music and here's why. They are only making, maybe, 15-20 percent margins on that stuff. If they sell everything at full retail, then yeah profit will increase, but who wants to pay 17.99 for a CD when you can download for 8 bucks, no shipping, no gas, no travel? It's economics. You increase space for and promote products that have greater margins, such as consumer electronics.

Same with TRU. Toy wholesale costs are up and expendible income is not. They are flooded with aisles of toys that are priced too high and can be purchased elsewhere cheaper. Ever notice how slow TRU is to mark down items? I can literally still walk into my local store and buy a Chris Pine 12 inch Kirk figure for 14.99. That **** should be like 3 bucks by now cause it's taking up space they could use for newer product. Walmart is the retail bully that beats the vendor down on wholesale pricing to get the best margins and makes room for future markdowns.

[ScottA]

One of our 2 malls have been closed for I know at least 8 years now. They have tried to get stores back in but it's just not happening. They just opened a part of it this week in fact as a new fire/police station for that side of town. There is talk of bringing 2 magnet schools in to the rest of the buildings.

The other mall seems to be hanging on with Sears, JCPenny and Belks. But since the movie theatre closed and FYE left I rarely go there anymore. There is no book store or toy store or music store anymore. The only store still around from back in the day is Spencers. Of course it does have it's own ice rink in the middle of it, which seems to stay quite busy.

[thunderbolt]

TRU is run by buffoons. There was a store less than 10 miles from a TOY based theme park on the main highway to it from the south in the area and they opted to close it and consolidate it with the store 20 miles away and not on the routes to LEGOLAND. Genius.

Toys R Us is in trouble too...they have been in trouble...they are 6 Billion dollars in Debt

http://qz.com/148668/this-christmas-could-be-make-or-break-for-toys-r-us/

will they be around 5-10 years from now? not if sales are continually down.I've have seen this same trend with KB Toys.

[Teemu]

TRU is run by buffoons..

can't disagree with that ...but it was sorta fun working there or it least had its moments....I miss KB Toys,My career was with them and probably one of the best jobs I ever had.(Working at a job that pertains to my hobby and interests doesn't get any better than that)

I will say that TRU and KB Toys are two different worlds though even though they both sold toys...KB wins hands down

[Fire Marshal Bill]

A few years ago I watched them tear down the mall i hung out at as a teen. It was within walking distance of the house. Musicland, Forum Fair (arcade), Wizard of Oz (pinball), midnight shows at the theater.... . I spent a lot of my childhood in that place.